The Films of Alfred Hitchcock (Cambridge Film Classics)
This survey of Hitchcock's long career pays special attention to varied influences on his work and includes in-depth thematic examinations of the following key films: Blackmail, Shadow of a Doubt, The Wrong Man, Vertigo, Psycho, and the Birds. Customer Review: a MUST for Hitchcock fans
Sterritt's book is somewhat modest compared to the many other tomes on cinema's Grand Wizard; he tackles only a dozen or so of the films in a few unassuming essays -- but he does a brilliant job, adding to the wealth of insights on such classics as "Shadow of a Doubt." His piece on "Psycho" is outrageous, claiming that it's actually a film about MONEY, and that money is equated with human excrement -- and he proves his case! (Marion flushes her calculations down the toilet; Cassidy says, "She sat there while I dumped it out"!) The introductory essay is also very insightful, esp. about Hitch's oversight of his own films. (Sterritt claims that H's cameos are signs that he is ever-present and always monitoring his creation.) I love Hitch, I have practically every book written about him and his work, and I can recommend this book unreservedly.
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